There has been a tremendous amount of buzz over our latest radio show. Well, here it is. You can judge for yourself whether or not this is a fair assessment of a controversial industry. We would love to hear your comments. Please post comments on this blog, or simply email me at pete @petetheplanner.com

Here is the Podcast. Enjoy

About Green Candy™

Green Candy™ (www.GreenCandy.com) is an online financial assessment tool that helps Gen Y-ers and Millennials get on the right financial track before the “debt hits the fan.” Introduced by radio personality, comedian and financial expert Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com), Green Candy’s ™ various “pods” allow users to assess their financial health and competency in common areas such as Debt, Budgeting, Investing, Charity, Risk Management and Major Purchases, as well as in areas unique to Gen Y. A subsequent series of targeted worksheets, podcasts, tip sheets, and action plans guides them to the financial promise land. Green Candy™: Get in control before the debt hits the fan.

About Pete the Planner

Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com) is expert financial planner Peter Dunn’s super-saving alter ego. Peter is an award-winning comedian and rising star in the financial world. Named one of “Indy’s Best and Brightest” in finance in 2007 and media in 2009 by KPMG, Peter was also declared one of NUVO magazine’s “30 under 30 to Watch in the Arts” for comedy. Peter is the author of What Your Dad Never Taught You About Budgeting (2006) and is the host of the popular radio show Skills Your Dad Never Taught You on News Talk 1430 (WXNT). He blogs regularly at www.petetheplanner.com/blog. Pete appears regularly on Fox News and Fox Business as well as various CBS stations. His newest book, 60 Days to Change, is due out in November.

After tons of email asking whether I thought MLM companies were legit or a scam, I decided to find out for myself. I have been working on a story on Multi-Level Marketing (Network Marketing) for a couple of months now. I have studied 10 MLM companies and their compensation structures. I have interviewed salespeople, ex-salespeople, and a CEO of an MLM. I have learned a tremendous amount of dos and don’t, and I’m going to share them all with you.

Starting Oct 4th at 11 am on News Talk 1430 AM, I will unravel the world of mulit-level marketing. There is one thing that I am sure of, this is sure to cause controversy. I have been banned from sales rallies, I have been emailed numerous “warnings”, and I have even made some unlikely friends.

I will be previewing my story on Abdul in the Morning (1430 WXNT Indy) on Oct 1 at 8:30 am and Smiley in the Morning at 8:50 am (99.5 WZPL Indy). Tune in.

I am obsessed with spending addictions this week. I don’t know why. I talked about it on my radio show, I talked about it on Your Time with Kim Iverson, and I talked about it on The Smiley Morning Show. Many people are compulsive spenders, but that doesn’t mean that they are addicted. I interviewed Harvard trained psychotherapist, Carleton Kendrick, on my radio show. He said that even though a spending addiction is not a physiological addiction, it’s still a serious issue.

I have compiled a list of symptoms that you should consider when trying to self-diagnose.

1. Do you lie to cover up your purchases? Lying about money is a serious problem, and can really damage your relationships.

2. Are your relationships struggling? This could be a sign of your halitosis, but then again it could be a side-effect of your terrible spending habits.

3. Do you just store the stuff you buy? Spending addiction is about the purchase, not about what you purchasing. Therefore, many times addicts will buy things that they don’t  even need. Thus, storage.

If you think you have a spending problem, you should really seek help.

About Green Candy™

Green Candy™ (www.GreenCandy.com) is an online financial assessment tool that helps Gen Y-ers and Millennials get on the right financial track before the “debt hits the fan.” Introduced by radio personality, comedian and financial expert Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com), Green Candy’s ™ various “pods” allow users to assess their financial health and competency in common areas such as Debt, Budgeting, Investing, Charity, Risk Management and Major Purchases, as well as in areas unique to Gen Y. A subsequent series of targeted worksheets, podcasts, tip sheets, and action plans guides them to the financial promise land. Green Candy™: Get in control before the debt hits the fan.

About Pete the Planner

Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com) is expert financial planner Peter Dunn’s super-saving alter ego. Peter is an award-winning comedian and rising star in the financial world. Named one of “Indy’s Best and Brightest” in finance in 2007 and media in 2009 by KPMG, Peter was also declared one of NUVO magazine’s “30 under 30 to Watch in the Arts” for comedy. Peter is the author of What Your Dad Never Taught You About Budgeting (2006) and is the host of the popular radio show Skills Your Dad Never Taught You on News Talk 1430 (WXNT). He blogs regularly at www.petetheplanner.com/blog. Pete appears regularly on Fox News and Fox Business as well as various CBS stations. His newest book, 60 Days to Change, is due out in November.

Guest blog by Roy Lederman, CEO, Plan Inc Online

Ahhhhh,  the month of September is upon us. The smell of Fall is in the air and my birthday is around the corner.  But more importantly September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. Repeat after me…A-ware-ness. Awareness is the word of the month.

Webster’s dictionary defines Awareness as, “having knowledge; being  informed; alert; knowledgeable.”

Many Americans have a general sense of what life insurance is. “If I die my beneficiaries will receive an amount (The Death Benefit) to help pay final expenses.” This statement is correct in one instance but it only skims the surface.

Now let me drop some knowledge on you and make you better informed about life insurance.

Did you know that 70,000,000 Americans do not have any Life Insurance?

If I was a baker looking to make a life insurance dish, I would guess that the recipe for life insurance usually involves one main ingredient, “Love”. Think about it. The main reason you buy life insurance is because you love someone. Think of it as the ultimate act of selfless love. In all likelihood, you won’t be around to see or experience the death benefits of a life insurance purchase. But the proceeds of a policy could benefit your loved ones for many years after you’re gone.

A life insurance purchase may be the wisest and most loving purchase you can make during these uncertain economic times. All of us have been hit with painful losses in the value of our homes and in our savings and investment accounts. One source of financial security still stands strong, however, and that’s life insurance.

Your current income or emergency savings may be paying today’s bills. But if you died tomorrow and your income disappeared, how would the bills get paid? While it may seem difficult nowadays to look beyond the bills that are due today, it would be a huge mistake to cancel or cut back on your life insurance if your need for coverage remains. In fact, with less savings to fall back on because of the state of the economy, you NEED to meet with a life insurance professional right away to make sure you have enough life insurance. When you die, the amount of life insurance in place could mean the difference between a future of financial security for your loved ones or a future filled with financial hardship and uncertainty.

Do the math!

If you died today do you have enough life insurance to cover the following immediate and on-going income needs:

1. Do you want to be buried? $10,000 in the national average for a funeral. (Nothing Fancy).
2. Pay off all liabilities including your Mortgage. If you are renting figure 10 years of rent payments.
3. Do you want your children to go to college? PS. College is EXPENSIVE!
4. Establish an emergency reserve fund usually 3 – 6 month’s salary.
5. At least 50% of your salary needs to be paid yearly to your spouse for their lifetime. (70% if you have children at home).

Do you have enough coverage? I’m assuming probably not.

A recent study determined that approximately 85% of those that have life insurance do not have enough coverage.

Now that you have the AWARENESS, Plan for it…Because it Happens!